Actually, Pandolfini's endgame book is titled Pandolfini's Endgame Course, not Complete Endgame Course, which I believe is the title of Silman's book.
I recommend the Pandolfini book, but there are several instances in which the diagrammed position is wrong. I think that Pandolfini has a website or a blog or something where you can get a list of the typos and their corrections.
Originally posted by gaychessplayer Actually, Pandolfini's endgame book is titled Pandolfini's Endgame Course, not Complete Endgame Course, which I believe is the title of Silman's book.
I recommend the Pandolfini book, but there are several instances in which the diagrammed position is wrong. I think that Pandolfini has a website or a blog or something where you can get a list of the typos and their corrections.
Originally posted by grit My rating is around 1000. I have Weapons of Chess and love it especially Pandolfini's chapters on pawns.
What other good books has he written that might help me?
grit
I'm most of the way through Pandolfini's Endgame Course. (Must...finish...the...book.) I thought it was okay. I didn't much care for his occasional use of highfalutin five dollar words when they weren't really necessary, but I guess that's nitpicking.
I liked the discussions of critical squares of pawns - that really helped me. I didn't much care for the endless rook-and-pawn positions. After the Lucena and Philidor, I thought many of the other R&P positions were sort of pointless. (Maybe I'm missing something - Am I really supposed to know all of those R&P positions in the book?)
I haven't read Pandolfini's book "The Winning Way", but Heisman recommends it for basic opening patterns and traps. I don't think Heisman is real big on novices spending too much time on openings, so it must be decent if Dan recommends it.
Originally posted by Mad Rook I'm most of the way through Pandolfini's Endgame Course. (Must...finish...the...book.) I thought it was okay....
I didn't much care for the endless rook-and-pawn positions. After the Lucena and Philidor, I thought many of the other R&P positions were sort of pointless. (Maybe I'm missing something - Am I really supposed to know all of those R&P positions in the book?)
Since R+P endings are so very common, knowing all those positions in the book would probably be a good thing.
Originally posted by gaychessplayer Since R+P endings are so very common, knowing all those positions in the book would probably be a good thing.
Maybe you're right - I did know that R&P endings are the most common. It's just that I was trying to sift out some principles (beyond the obvious like active rooks, and rooks behind advanced pawns) from all of the R&P positions in the book and was fairly unsuccessful at it. It just seemed to be a lot of random positions that I'd never remember, and after a while I started getting an impression of "gee, more filler material thrown into the book". But after I finish the book, I'll make a second pass through it. Maybe more of it will stick next time.
Originally posted by Mad Rook Maybe you're right - I did know that R&P endings are the most common. It's just that I was trying to sift out some principles (beyond the obvious like active rooks, and rooks behind advanced pawns) from all of the R&P positions in the book and was fairly unsucessful at it. It just seemed to be a lot of random positions that I'd never remember, and after a w ...[text shortened]... inish the book, I'll make a second pass through it. Maybe more of it will stick next time.
Edmar Mednis wrote a nice little book on R+P endings back in the 1980's. You can probably find it cheap on http://www.amazon.com
Originally posted by gaychessplayer Edmar Mednis wrote a nice little book on R+P endings back in the 1980's. You can probably find it cheap on http://www.amazon.com
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm guessing you're referring to "Practical Rook Endings" by Mednis and published by Chess Enterprises.
Yeah, there are a number of them I could try down the road. I just thought that Pandolfini's endgame book would be a good one to start on endgames.
Edit - Ah, OK, just looked at the Amazon reviews. If I can believe them (sometimes too gushy), although the Mednis book is short on pages, it contains a lot of ideas. Might just work for me. Thanks again.
Originally posted by Mad Rook Thanks for the suggestion. I'm guessing you're referring to "Practical Rook Endings" by Mednis and published by Chess Enterprises.
Yeah, there are a number of them I could try down the road. I just thought that Pandolfini's endgame book would be a good one to start on endgames.
Edit - Ah, OK, just looked at the Amazon reviews. If I can believe them (s ...[text shortened]... s book is short on pages, it contains a lot of ideas. Might just work for me. Thanks again.
I recommended the Mednis book because it is short and to the point.
Pandolfini's Chess Complete covers a lot of answers to basic questions about all things chess related, rather than being an analysis/exercise book. If you're not sure of rules or the reasoning behind strategies and positions then this book is worth a look.
07 Feb '09 19:57
what are the best Pandolfini books for an advanced beginner?
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